Conveyer.



J. A. MAcLENNAN.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.28| I917- Pafented Apr. 15,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

' ttorvzqy.

J. A. MAcLENNAN.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.28| 19!].

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Atzfo r7296 JOSEPH A. MAcLENNAN, or PHILADELPHIA, rEnnsYLvAnIA, ASSIGNOR ro LINK-BELT comm, OE

CHICAGO, ILLInoIs, A cOnrOnA'rIon or ILLmoIs.

conveyer.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, J osnrn A. MAOLEN- NAN, a citizen of .the United States, residing at Philadelphia; in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement invConveyers, of which the following is a specification U My invention relates to improvements in conveyors and has for one object to provide means for conveying material downwardly from an elevated source of supply and depositing it more orless generally beneath such source of supply whereby material will notlbe broken or unduly comminutedand whereby the receptacle such as a vessel or barge will be filled gradually and evenly without damage to the vesselor'to the material and without undue dirt, dust and noise. One object of my invention is to provide such a downwardly acting conveyer and operate it in unison with adjustable means whereby there may be at all times a direct line of movement and line of material moving from the elevated source to the relatively low discharge point. Other objects will appear from time to time'in the specification.

ing hatchway A tracks for the passage of Y My invention is illustrated moreior less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings-wherein-'- v Figure 1 is a section through a boat showing the apparatusin elevation;

Fig-2 is a detailed section through the conveyer leg which penetrates the boat;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a detail viewed from Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on. an enlarged scale showing a detail.

. Like parts are indicated by like characters in all the drawings.

A is a boat or bargg having an open loadt wharf or dock A upon which is erected a loading trestle A* carrying a return railroad track A and a dumping track 'A. A" is a movable crane platform mounted on wheels A and adapted to travel along the crane track A there being a space within the a railroad car not here illustrated.

Projecting upwardly from the platform A is a, tower B and projecting outwa ly from the platform is a boom B This boom the back side of the part shown in "Specification of Letters Patent.

board side as at 0*.

stands alongside a.

.tackle B controlled is adapted to be closed at to rotate in' end of the leg into the D on a shaft D";

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Application filed April 28, 1917. I Serial No. 165,058.

is free to rotate being supported at its outer end from the tower B by means of a from inside the housing covering the platform by any suitable mechanism not here shown. B 'is tor leg suspended by means of the tackle B from the end of the boom 13 the tackleterminating in a drum on the housing not here specifically illustrated whereby the leg may be raised and lowered at the will of the operator. v p

C is a discharge chute 0r hopper located beneath the dumping tracks A. It discharges into a fixed leg 0 the discharge being controlled by adoor 0 rotated to, time or control the flow of material in any suitable way belt (3 driven by any suitable power not here shown, The leg C is open on its outfrom substantially the top of the leg well down toward the bottom. The leg or column the bottom of the openlngby means of a traveling discharge head C which fits within the column and is 80 provided with-an inclineddeflecting bottom 0. Carried on this head are a series of plates C C which plates are arranged so as to be suspended one from another so that when the'head is at .t opening in the side wall of the'column above the discharge head is closed and that as the head is raised successive plates are raised by it. This arrangement permits the head to raise and lower and to maintain a continuous solidcolum'n of material in the hollow leg- It will be understood that this head and these shutter sections are raised and lowered by means of a cable C drlven from a :motor C operates cable 0 C which assists in HHS-"- ing' and lowering.- the chute 0 through which the material is discharged.

D D are sprocket Wheels mounted inside the leg B A sprocket chain travels over 100 them carrying a seriesof conveyer buckets D D These conveyer buckets are adapted a clockwise direction, and to discharge their load onthe inclined adjustable chute D out through the opening-D in the lower hollow in the'vessel. D is a gear mounted on the same shaft as the sprocket D. It is in mesh with a pinion a tubular eleva- 60 which may be by means of a The opening extends ebottom position the at all times '90 This motor also whence I the material passes the shaft D extends out wardly through the wall of the leg and has. mounted thereon a gear Di. This gearis in mesh with a pinion D driven from any suit- I able source of. power to control and drive the bucketsthough it will be understood, of

course, that this power source. may be dispensed with if the weight of the material is sufliciently great toovercome friction and cause the buckets to descend by gravity.

It will be noted that one side of the leg B is open as'at E; E is' a carriage adapted to travel in such opening. This carriage is suspended by means of a hoisting line E leading to a drum in the controlling plat- 'form whereby thiscarriage may be moved with respect to the leg so that the leg and carriage may assume any spos'itionbetween the position of fullline and dotted line at the'will of the operator. E is a measuring and material supply device. It is mounted for rotation asindicated inside the-carriage E and is adapted when in the position of full line to discharge itscontents into the successive buckets, the gap between the edge of the measure and the buckets being bridged by 'a short bridging member E. This measuring member carries a gate E which cuts oil the flow of material from the chute C when it is in the full-line'position.

. When in the dotted line position the measuring member is filled by material coming down the chute and on the next movement the load is discharged into the bucket. E? is a driving link pivoted at one, end on the measuring device E at the other end on a crankwheel E in the carriage E F is a sprocket chain ridingover the crank wheel sprocket E guided by means of sprokets F 5 F 3 and extending about .40 sprockets F? F at the bottom and top of the leg respectively. The sprocket F is mounted on the shaft F which shaft carries a sprocket-F about which travels a sprocket chain F in mesh with a sprocket wheel F on the shaft D, the relations of these diflerent sprockets, shafts and chains being such that as the buckets travel themeaswing and feeding device operates so as to discharge a load in each bucket as the bucket passes by. .In other words while one bucket is coming down to take the place of thepreceding one which has just been filled, the

supply device has time to make-one full excursion so that it returns and meets the next bucket-and discharges its load into it as it comes by.

- It will be evident-that while I have shown in my drawings an operative device, still manychanges might be made both in size,

shape andarrangement of parts without departing'materiallyfrom the spirit of my invention and I wish therefore that my drawings be regarded as ina sense diagrammatic.

. I have shown my device mounted on a bracket or carriage whereby it may be and this will cause the operation of the feeda afi v I moved along the chain of buckets. Obviously, of course,it. might be equally desirable to move the chain of buckets and hold the carriage-in fixed position or it' might into the gap between the chute and the leg 1n position with respect to the leg shown in' dotted lines. The hollow leg fixed on the v-harf will also be in the position shown in When 'it is desired to load a vessel the movable leg will be lowered until it rea'ches the bottom of the hold. If the vessel is 'deep or the water low it will be necessary to lower the movable chute as well and the shutter 1 sections across the front open side of the fixed leg will be successively suspended each from'the oneabove 'it until the movable leg reaches the bottomof the vessel. As this is done it will be understood that coal which is first in the fixed chute: on the loading dock will run down into'the fixed legvso that the leg will-.be filled up as rapidly as its 'bottom I sinks. .This, of course, will be accomplished bystarting the means ofcontrolling the flow from the hopper as-soon as the movable chute is lowered. I The operator will then start the movement of the buckets in the movable leg ing device the carriage attached to the movable leg.- The result will be that there will bea. continuous stream of coal runni through the system from the hopper fille by the cars through the first feed gate in the fixed hollow leg down throughit into the. top of the inclined movable-chute, 'down', 1 through this ohute-into-the feed device in the carnage and associated withthe movable leg .7 v and from this feed device into the successive buckets in the movable leg. These buckets. will travel down carrying thematerial to the bottom of the leg where it will be dumped on the inclinedichute .and thereby it distributedin the bottom of the vessel. As the hold of the vessel fills up the leg may bev moved upwardly; The inclined movable- 'chutemay also'be movedu wardly-as'the operator may see fit and t s process can continue as the boat is filled until the leg and the chute have both been raised. as high as possible the only limit the inclination at which the coal will flow freel through the movable chute since theend o the chute may 'be raised or lowered'to compensate for 180 said buckets justment.

changes in level and give an additional ad- After the vessel has been filled, then the parts can be raiseda little higher so as to clear the substructufe and the boat can be drawn away without difliculty.

Thus there is at all times a continuous complete column of material extending from the loading point way up on the dock structure through the different associated parts of the system down to the ultimate discharge point of the hold of the boat. There is no chance for any particle to fall causing undue comminution or reduction of the size of the materials handled orto cause any undue strain on the material handling apparatus or any strain on the boat itself.

I claim 1. A conveyer comprising a group of descending buckets,and inclosmg case in which travel providedwith a longitudinal aperture along the line of travel of such buckets, a supply device adjacent the line of travel of such buckets, means whereby the whole group-of buckets V device may have relative bodily 'movement one with reference to the other and means [whereby the supply device at each position so. material-to each bucket as it passes.

ofsuch relative movement will deliver through the aperture a definite quantity of 2. A conveyer comprising a group of descending buckets and inclosing case in wlnch said buckets travel provided with a-longiintermittently acting quantity to each and the it supply tudinalv aperture along the line. of travel of such buckets, a supply device containing an the line of travel of such buckets, means whereby the whole group-of buckets and the supply device may have relative bodily movement one with reference to the other and means whereby the supply device at each position of such relative movement will deliver through the aperture a definite tity of material to each bucket as-it passes.

3. In a;- conveyer the combination of a 10ngitudinall apertured casing and a chain of buckets t erein with a. carriage slidab-ly mounted on the casing adj acent the aperture, and feeding means mounted to shift with the carriage means for delivering material from said feeding means through the carriage to the bucket chain and means on'the carriage whereby at any, posl ion of the carria e 1t will deliver through the aperture a de mte means comprising a controlling gate a driven link and timing wheel to operate said gate and awdriving belt connection between the timing wheel and the bucket carrying belt. 'In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses this 24th day of April,11917.

\ JOSEPH A. MACLENNAN.

Witnesses:

' STAUNTON s RICHARD W,

P. PEcK,

YnRKrs.

delivery gate adjacent quanbucket as it passes said. 

